KALEIDOSCOPIC EXHIBIT, Intimate Views of Foliage: Romancing the Curves--Seven Feathers Convention Center, 10/15/11

"Kaleidoscope" 30x24 acrylic ©Sandi Whetzel

A seductive flirtation with captivating, curvaceous shapes and vibrant color sparks my passion for creating contemporary acrylic paintings. I embrace the nuances in forms, color and patterns drawn from the plant world.

My fascination with engaging designs in nature entices me to play with the subjects in preliminary thumbnail sketches to enhance their formation. Part of the seduction is discovering how to integrate the figures and emphasize their tantalizing contours. The decision of where to crop the images makes them intimate with the edges of the canvas. The resulting spaces surrounding the objects become intriguing configurations in the design. I toy with the elements until I've coaxed them into a pleasing arrangement of energy and rhythm that accentuates their distinctive qualities.

My excitement builds as I brush the concept on canvas, anticipating how exquisitely the objects can be embellished with luscious color, sculptural brush strokes and tangible textures. My hand and the pigment-loaded brush become graceful dancing partners, tracing the silhouettes to reveal their structure on canvas.

I savor the freedom and the challenge of going beyond merely reproducing images; to paint them as I choose to visualize them. I hope to achieve an animated, sensuous or playful quality with the graceful motifs that are a recurrent theme in my art. When things are going well, the brush strokes express flourish and a sculpted, carved quality, softness or energy; whatever is needed to convey the character and emotional energy of the structures. Viewers are escorted through the paintings; impregnated with the emotions the configurations and colors convey. I consider my work to be most successful when people express how my paintings make them feel.

I hope the celebration and interplay of forms, patterns and colors in my art provides joy, inspiration and sanctuary to individuals during stressful times of their lives. I create because it gives me pleasure to discover and embellish beauty in nature. I delight in having some degree of control in this one aspect of my life where I can see and render subjects as I choose to visualize them.

You can see Sandi Whetzel's upcoming exhibit, KALEIDOSCOPE, thirteen intimate views of foliage, during the South Douglas County Festival of Arts, Saturday, October 15, 2011. This one day festival will be at Seven Feathers Casino Resort Convention Center in Canyonville, OR. Admission is free and the hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The festival features Douglas County's finest painters, jewelry designers, potters, artisans and live music.

Sandi is very excited about showing this body of work because she rarely gets to share her flora genre. Whetzel is also known for her popular wine images that have promoted the wine industry in Oregon. The popularity of her wine series preoccupies available booth space at most of her exhibition opportunities. In addition to the floras, Sandi will also display reproductions of her popular wine series and her classy wine inspired apparel for men and women.

Currently Whetzel's wine series is hanging at Liquid Assets Wine Bar, 96 North Main, in Ashland, Oregon through November 11th. First Friday Art Walks at that venue are from 5-7 pm, October 4 and November 7th. To see more of Sandi's art, click here.